Brisket: Best practices for a rookie?


 
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Rob O

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Hi all,

I guess next Friday night/Saturday morning is graduation day for me. I'll be doing a 14 to 16 pound (whole) brisket on an overnight cook.

I was wondering what suggestions folks might have to keep me from going too far wrong?

I've been to the Brisket page at the beginning of the forum. I feel pretty confident I can follow the directions. No problem there but...

Good grief I'm not even sure what it is I'm cooking. Mom used to cook brisket in a pot and I think I had a BBQ brisket sandwich once when I was in Richmond. Beyond that I'm in the dark.

If you folks out there wouldn't mind I could really use some pointers on what it is I'm getting myself into. A couple of questions?

- What rubs do people like?
- What woods work? I've got chunk hickory, oak, mesquite and cherry available to me.
- Any big do's and don'ts for overnight cooks?
- Any big do's and don'ts for prepping the meat?
- How about serving it. Slice it? Shred it? Sauce it? What sauce?

Thanks guys and gals. Appreciate any and all advice.


I don't remember the last time I cooked something that was this big a mystery to me! This is gonna be great.
 
Rob,
I've done only a couple of briskets (got my WSM for fathers day also). Remember your earlier post about your ten mistakes! Think about too much smoke!
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I used hickory and enjoyed mine. Follow info from the reciepes section and it will be fine. I shredded the point, sliced the rest. It goes great with cole slaw and baked beans. From reading your other threads, you will do fine. If you need a Guinia pig to taste test for you...give me a call LOL.

Nick P.
 
Hi Nick,

We'll have to do that before it gets too cold. I'll take the kids out to that park in Northport by the marina and we'll swap some que.

This cook's for a long, long time friend who's moving down to Delaware. Told him I was cooking a 12 pound brisket so he'd have leftovers to take down there with him.

(I couldn't let them arrive hungry could I?)
 
He would never forgive you! I hope your buddy enjoys! Yeah...we'll have to get together some time. I did a leg of lamb today on the gasser (see grilling threads). It came out great.

Nick P.
 
Hey'd you ever think about doing a cook for that fire company you're part of?

Maybe we could do something for them?
 
I'm thinking Super Bowl. We usually have a bash for the guys here and I sometimes help with the cooking (or the bartending, which ever needs more attention)

Nick P.
 
Keep the temp down. It will take longer but be more moist.

Keep it on the smoker. To me it tasts better finished on the smoker than finished in the oven.

If it were me, I would start it with mesquite hard and keep it going with oak or a bit of hickory.
 
I did a brisket this past weekend. I 've only done a couple before, and I wanted try something different. From Paul Kirks Championship Sauces book, I marinated the brisket in the "Ultimate Beef Baste" then rubbed it with "Bill's Beef Power Rub".

It was really beefy.

Seriously, it was really good and everyone raved about it. I don't know that I'd recommend it for the first time out. But I would give it a try some time.

Joel
 
Rob
Only remove the hard fat, leave the rest of the fat on the brisket. On the lean side clean up the silver skin and the little fat that is on it. Rub ( mix rub into a thick paste with apple juice) into the brisket every where but on the fat cap. Cook at 225 to 235 pit temp. You are going to put the brisket on fat side down.
Cook to an internal temp of 190 and it this point wrap in HD foil and place in a perheated dry cooler for 4 hours.

Remove the brisket and take off the fat cap and the point ( it is easy to follow the grain and seperate the point).
Slice the flat across the grain (you can sauce the face of each or serve sauce on the side).
The point you can pull or chop, I feel there is more flavor in the point.

Under smoking is a better choice, you can always add more smoke on the next cook if you feel this needed more. I would go with 3 or 4 chunks of cherry.

Make sure your thremometer is accurate, test in boiling water.

Jim
 
Gary
Yes I did say fat side, it does a better job of keeping the brisket protected from drying.
Try it you will like it.
Jim
 
Thanks Jim for that info..never heard that before....Fat side down..mmm...adn you clean up all the fat before you serve....so i guess its rub on the bottom side with very little fat(which will be cooking on the top) and trim the hard fat on the top(which will be cooking on the bottom) sounds like Abbot and Costello...
doing a lil cook here in LA on sunday.. im going to just be cooking the points...4 of them....prob starting them early in the morning for an early evening meal.....
ill try this way see what how we like it....Thanks and have a great weekend
 
Thanks everyone.

I really appreciate the help.

I'm getting things started now. I'll be sure to post pics.
 
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